Video: 2024 MINI Countryman Goes All-Out at the ’Ring

Following our exclusive first look inside and outside of the new 2024 MINI Countryman, we’ve got our best look yet at MINI’s now larger crossover. as we saw this past winter, 2024 MINI Countryman is growing in every direction.
We know through sources the all new 2024 MINI Countryman will be about 200 mm (8 inches) larger – specifically in the rear. While MINI chose to modify the UKL chassis to shorten the rear giving the current Countryman slightly more MINI-like proportions, we believe this next generation car will more closely follow it’s BMW twins in overall size but lengthening the rear. This will allow for a larger cargo area and more rear legroom.
What about weight? Our sources are telling us that MINI will make use of advanced chassis design and plenty of new aluminum components to reduce the weight gain we’ll see. Given that this car will also form the basis of the first all-electric Countryman, efficiency will be key.
In out exclusive interior photos the first thing you notice is that massive circular screen. And yes it’s identical to what we saw a few months ago on the upcoming 2024 MINI electric hatch. But there’s seemingly one difference here – that massive plastic enclosure that connects the screen to the dash. However we believe that enclosure is actually camouflage and the final design will feature a floating circular display like we you see to the right from the 2024 electric MINI hatch leak.
Beyond the massive screen there’s a lot to take in here. The switches and knobs (which are actually marked) are also identical to what we saw in the electric hatch leak meaning that MINI is moving to a consistent user experience across all models no matter where they’re produced or what platform they’re on. That’s an essential move if MINI wants that digital experience to be a selling point of the brand.
There are no clean-sheet designs in the internal combustion world these days and there’s no exception here. Every petrol powered engine is a revision of an existing one. So things will look familiar but numbers will rise slightly. Based on what we know about the evolved three and four liter family of engines from BMW, we should see something close to the following:
Yes it’s coming. The FAAR platform was designed from the ground up to accommodate a battery pack and electric motor as part of the brand’s plans to transition all products over the next decade. That means we should see a fully electric version of the Countryman shortly after launch possibly as a 2025 model.
With the test mules progressing quickly, we believe we’ll see the 2024 MINI Countryman make its debut in the second half of 2023 as a 2024 model in the US. We’ll likely see petrol powered Cooper and Cooper S models first before MINI launches its first ever all electric Countryman. And don’t worry; an even higher horsepower JCW Countryman is coming.